Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch; like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see. Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed! The Lord hath promised good to me,

His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be, as long as life endures. When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, than when we first begun. 🎶 Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease: I shall possess, within the veil, a life of joy and peace. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine; but God, who called me here below, will be forever mine.

The lyrics are the soul reflections of John Newton, a slave trader who nearly died in a shipwreck. John eventually became a minister. He penned the famous words of “Amazing Grace” for a sermon for his 1773 New Year’s service at the Church of St. Peter.

Author: John Newton

John Newton was born in London, England, 1725; and died in London, 1807. He was born into a Christian home, but his godly mother died when he was seven, and he joined his father at sea when he was eleven. His licentious and tumul­tuous sailing life included a flogging for attempted desertion from the Royal Navy and captivity by a slave trader in West Africa. After his escape, he himself became the captain of a slave ship. What caused Newton’s conversion? A near-drowning in 1748, and his reading of Thomas à Kempis’ Imitation of Christ. In 1754 he gave up the slave trade and, in association with William Wilberforce, eventually John became an abolitionist praising God.